Outrunning Destiny
by Jordietheshortie
Summary: It has been eleven years since Sunnydale was destroyed, but, the gang has bonded together to help rebuild it in any way they can. Amongst all the chaos one member was left in the dust: Faith. Emotions overcame her, fearing the person she had become. That all changes when Faith's long lost daughter stumbles upon Sunnydale and just happens to meet her mother for the first time.


**Chapter 1:**** Forgiving**

**November 23rd, 2015**

**_Lexi Lehane_**

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The night sky surrounds me as if a black hole has come and swallowed my whole world; churning it around and around in its stomach. The slight breeze sways my dark hair, almost blending in with the night. The world sounds quiet tonight, resting in their beds all warm with their blankets wrapped up around their necks. Across the street I can see Mrs. Smith in the window tucking in the youngest of her two children, the one I babysit. She ducks down low to avoid the swinging light that stoops so low and kisses her son on the forehead. She then ruffles his ember red hair and smiles, turning her back on him only to turn out the light. A part of me sighs and the other part of me stays stone cold. My Mom ran out on me, left me with a cheap drunk who can't afford anything but a twelve pack of beer at the beginning of every week.

I look above me at the full moon, and in the distance I swear I can hear a wolf howl. Last time I checked, there were no such thing as wolves in the State of Washington. The park that stretches before me displays how empty this town can be at night. The dimly lit bike paths look hauntingly eerie and the picnic tables seem to be practically glowing with creepiness. I shudder, letting fear overcome me for a split second before my mind refocuses on what I am here to do. My knees are tucked up to my chest in order to keep from shivering from the cold, but it doesn't help that I'm sitting on a stone cold rock. My ass is frozen.

"Lexi," somebody whispers from behind me, making me turn my head at the sound of my name. "I'm here." And sure enough, out of the darkness steps my best friend Richard. Of course, he's wearing the toque I gave him last Christmas with what I earned at the _Daily Stop N' Go. _I swear to God he hasn't taken off that cheap ratty thing since. To make matters worse he's wearing his dorky _Star Trek _t-shirt that I _did not _give him last Christmas.

"Took you long enough," I roll my eyes, sliding down off of the rock and embracing him in an awkward hug. Richard and I were close. Close enough to cry on his shoulder, call him up in the middle of the night when the yelling got worse and even when the bruises became painful. That kind of friend. He pulls away from me quickly and I silently thank him for that.

"Alright," he begins, rummaging through the orange envelope that contains what I asked him for. "Fake ID, fake passport, and, a little extra for the ride."

He hands me the envelope and I gasp. He's done it. He's done it all so perfectly. My fake ID and my fake passport read the same thing; Elizabeth Mia Anderson. But, he's also thrown in a few extra scraps, and by scraps I mean money.

"Richard, I can't take this... you know I can't. I already owe you too much."

He scoffs, waving off the subject as if handing me three hundred dollars was an everyday task he enjoyed doing. "It was no big deal. My Mom won't even notice."

That's the part that gets me. The fact that Richard can take three hundred dollars from underneath his parents' noses, and they wouldn't notice at all. He always told me that they were too busy with their business to care about anything, but I hadn't realized it had gotten this bad. We were both neglected, just in very different forms.

Richard shoves his hands in his pockets and looks down at the grassy turf. He begins to fiddle with his toe, making the earth below him dirt instead of grass. "I guess... this is... goodbye."

I can tell he wants to give me another hug; put his scrawny little arms around my neck and squeeze until the sun comes up. I don't even think his green puppy dog eyes and round cheeks could even let me cave in. That was how badly I had to get out of here.

"Alright," I change the subject. "My bus leaves in five minutes. According to the schedule it should be arriving at any minute. God I hope it's soon, I really hope Mrs. P won't find out." My heart tugs a little at the thought of Mrs. P showing up in her drunken state, ready to haul me back to the house by the hair. I smooth down my already straight brown hair; my best feature, or so Richard told me.

"I'm glad you'll be away from that monster, I've had enough of her throwing you into walls, making you bleed and cry."

"Thanks for the visual Rich," I roll my eyes, picking up my duffle bag from the ground and slinging it onto my shoulder. The sound of squeaky brakes and the smell of bus exhaust creeps it way to my body, making it tighten and cringe. I turn to Richard, my eyes filled with a watery substance that everybody calls tears; Richard calls it Emotion Juice. His face is all a blur, so when the bus pulls up and the door opens, I get on, only looking back to give a pathetic smile and wave, just like they do in the movies.

"Hey, Lexi!" Richard calls, using my real name instead of the ID I just showed the bus driver, who looks at me confused. "Who knows, wherever you're going, you could bump into someone you know!"

I laugh, this time it isn't one of the fake ones I show at school, just to reassure everybody that I'm okay when I'm not. "Like who, my Mom?"

I turn my back, this time for good. The doors close behind me and before I can take my seat the bus driver shifts the car into drive, and the vehicle lurches forwards. I stumble along the aisle way but my duffle bag catches me by the edge of the seat. After a moment of shuffling, grunting, and apologizing to the passengers who I had accidently hit with my bag, I'm settled in one of the uncomfortable cloth chairs. The bus turns onto the highway and soon we pass the big lit sign stating the name of our small town that nobody has ever taken the time to care about. The bus driver turns on the speaker and bellows into it:

"Next stop, Sunnydale.

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_**Hello everybody! Thank you for taking the time to read this story! I hope you have all enjoyed the first chapter so far. There is still a lot more to come! I know I'm not the best writer for this type of formatting (I'm a screenwriter) and I know I struggle in the areas of description but I'm hoping that writing this will help me get more practice! So basically the storyline isn't as cliché as it sounds, trust me, the last thing I want to hear is that word. Since the first chapter was told in Lexi's point of view, I would like to tell the next chapter in Faith's, but I know from reading multiple points of views in other stories on here that most people hate that. What would you as the readers think? Please remember to review! **_


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